Linux-based machines have the highest fraud rates

Criminals looking to complete a fraudulent transaction are more likely to use a Linux-based machine than one using any other type of operating system, according to a new study from iovation Inc., a company that compiles a database of computers associated with fraud.

The study found that 2.3% of transactions stemming from Linux machines are fraudulent. That compares with 1.4% of transactions from Windows-based machines and 1.0% for Mac computers using Apple Inc.’s OS X operating system.

There were no mobile platforms in the top three most-used operating systems. “We believe this is because fraudsters prefer operating systems that make it easier to automate their schemes,” says Scott Waddell, iovation vice president of technology.

Iovation analyzed fraudulent transactions as a percentage of overall transactions from the more than 1 billion devices it tracks between January and July 2012 for its study. The 1 billion devices that iovation tracks include desktops, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, handheld gaming devices, gaming consoles and smart TVs.

More than 2,000 companies worldwide use iovation’s database of Internet devices and fraud protection services to determine the level of risk associated with online transactions. Iovation says it stops more 150,000 fraud attempts each day.